Automated slide preparing system and method thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an apparatus ( 1 ) and method ( 2 ) for automatically preparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides ( 107 ) by means of filtration comprising of at least one substrate ( 101 ) for holding a vial ( 103 ) containing specimen, a filter ( 105 ) and a slide ( 107 ) wherein said substrate ( 101 ) is located at a first station (FS); at least one working station (WS) comprises of a working platform ( 109 ) connected to said first station (FS) wherein said first station (FS) includes a vertical rotary conveyor system ( 121 ) which is flexible, user friendly and capable of providing uniformity of the cell distribution in the homogenous thin-layer LBC slides ( 107 ) as well as increase system throughput.

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method forautomatically preparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides by means offiltration comprises of at least one substrate for holding a vialcontaining specimen, a filter and a slide, wherein said substrate islocated at a first station; at least one working station; at least onefirst, second and third pick and place module; whereby said firststation includes a vertical rotary conveyor system which comprises of abody frame; at least one actuator which is fixed to said body frame toactuate said vertical rotary conveyor system; at least one movableplatform on which said substrate is loaded wherein said movable platformis affixed to said body frame at a predetermined interval; at least onechain guide rail supports by said body frame and guide at least oneroller chain; said roller chain connects with at least one sprocket toenable rotation and circulation of said vertical rotary conveyor systemdriven by the power of said actuator to form an endless track; and atleast one alignment means to align said substrate with said movableplatform.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of thecervix (the lower part uterus that connects to the vagina). It is knownas the second most common cause of death from cancer in women.Fortunately, the prevalence of cervical cancer has decreased by morethan 50% in the past 30 years, principally due to the introduction ofadvanced screening with cervical cytology. Papanicolaou (Pap) test andLiquid-based cytology (LBC) are the most common cervical cancerscreening.

Pap test or Pap smear is a method or procedure in which a small spatulaor brush is applied to gently collect cells from the cervix and thecollected cells will be examined under a microscope to look forabnormality. Although Pap test was responsible for the early success inreducing the incidence of cervical cancer, the clinical performance ofthis method is not within limitations. The Pap test was found to have afalse-negative rate of about 14% to 33%, which is mainly caused by thelimitations of inadequate sampling of lesions present, whereby only asmall portion of sample taken from the patient or incomplete transfer ofthe sample to a glass slide, poor slide preparation, inaccuratemicroscopic examination, or the like. As a consequence, in the UnitedStates, LBC accounts for more than 90% of the Pap tests as LBC hassignificantly improved in terms of sample quality, sensitivity, andreproductivity.

It is well known that the new cytopreparatory techniques includesliquid-based cytology (LBC) which is a thin-layer or mono-layer slidespreparation technique wherein it involves making a suspension of cellsfrom the sample to produce a thin-layer of cells on a slide. They aremostly applied for cancer screening either gynaecological cancers ornon-gynaecological cancers. LBC technique serves as an effectivesolution to overcome the shortcomings of the conventional Pap smearstechnique. Unlike the conventional Pap test, the sample is added to avial of transport medium preservative rather than being spread on amicroscope slide. The samples are then processed and deposited in a cellspot onto the slide, subsequent the thin-layer slide is analysed by thecytologist or pathologist. As a consequence of these improvements insample quality, the clinical sensitivity of LBC over the conventionalPap test in the detection of high-grade lesions has been reported tohave increased. Hence, the benefit of LBC compared with the conventionalPap test is evident not only in improvements in technology, but also inthe clinical utility for detecting precancerous lesions or cancer.

Canna Cheral J., U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,752 A, disclosed an apparatus andmethod of obtaining self-administered PAP smears which includes ahollow, cylindrical speculum of suitable minimum inside diameter topermit mirror vision therethrough. The speculum is formed with an angledfront orifice wherein the front angle between the orifice and the axisof the speculum is particularly designed to easily fit about the cervix.The entire squamocolumnar junction of the uterine cervix is exposedwithin the front orifice to permit complete wiping, preferably undervisual observation through a hand mirror. A hinged, elongated spatulaand an angled endocervical sampler are included as part of the testequipment to facilitate the taking of uncontaminated, accuratespecimens. Said invention U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,752 A is a conventionalmethod which encountered several drawbacks such as high false negativerate and false positive rate, whereby this method may not detectcervical cell abnormalities even though they are present, and the testmay detect cervical cell abnormalities when there are none. Hence, thelimitation is that it does not guarantee accurate results.

In order to overcome the aforementioned limitations of U.S. Pat. No.5,121,752 A, a simple thin liquid-based cytology method applied for thegynecological examination, the cervical cancer general examination andthe cervical cancer preceding lesion of selected crowd, has beendisclosed in CN 1967196 B by Qiu Rui Cheng. The steps including: usingthe cervical cells brush and the scraper to collect samples, put samplesin the liquid-based cell preservation solution, add base liquid cellprocessing solution, oscillate, centrifugally separate, take and discardthe supernatant samples liquid, using adding samples gun to assimilatesediment samples, smear, sheet drying, using 95% ethanol marinate orspray for fixed, washing and dyeing. The invention has simple method,small steps, high positive detection rate, low misdiagnosis rate, and itcan eliminate the red blood cells, mucus and other interferencecomponents from the cervical cytology detection specimens, with goodsheet-producing result. In spite of that, CN 1967196 B does not compriseof an automated conveyor system, whereas present invention is capable ofautomatically preparing the thin-layer LBC slides by way of an automatedconveyor system which is efficient, as well as provide uniformity of thecell distribution in the homogenous thin-layer LBC slides.

Hence, it would be advantageous to alleviate the shortcomings by havingan apparatus and method for automatically preparing thin-layer ormono-layer liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides by means of filtrationwith a rotary vertical conveyor system which is highly efficient,flexible and user friendly.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the primary aim of the present invention to providean apparatus and method for automatically preparing liquid-basedcytology (LBC) slides by means of filtration whereby said apparatus andmethod are highly efficient and able to provide uniformity of the celldistribution in the homogenous thin-layer LBC slides.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration which aims to maximize space saving.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration whereby said apparatus and method are capable of controllingthe cellular density.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration whereby said apparatus and method aim to reduce obscuringelements such as inflammatory cells, debris, blood and mucus.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration whereby said apparatus and method are able to eliminate theair-drying artifacts.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration which aims to increase system throughput.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration which aims to improve the cells morphology.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration which aims to increase system throughput.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration which is flexible and user friendly.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for automatically preparing LBC slides by means offiltration which is environmentally friendly.

Other further objects of the invention will become apparent with anunderstanding of the following detailed description of the invention orupon employment of the invention in practise.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention thefollowing is provided:

An apparatus for automatically preparing liquid-based cytology (LBC)slides by means of filtration comprises of:

at least one substrate for holding a vial containing specimen at a firstposition, a filter at a second position and a slide at a third positionwherein said substrate is located at a first station;

at least one working station comprises of a working platform connectedto said first station;

at least one first pick and place module to pick said vial from saidsubstrate at said working station, transfer said vial to a secondstation for untightening and removing a cap of said vial, andsubsequently transfer said vial to a first disposable station;

at least one second pick and place module to pick said filter from saidsubstrate at said working station, immerse said filter into said vial,transfer said filter to adhere to said slide and subsequently transfersaid filter to a second disposable station;

at least one third pick and place module to pick said slide from saidsubstrate at said working station, adhere said slide to said filter, andsubsequently transfer said slide to a slide holder;

characterized in that

said first station includes a vertical rotary conveyor system comprisesof:

a body frame;

at least one actuator which is fixed to said body frame to actuate saidvertical rotary conveyor system;

at least one movable platform on which said substrate is loaded whereinsaid movable platform is affixed to said body frame at a predeterminedinterval;

at least one chain guide rail supports by said body frame and guide atleast one roller chain;

said roller chain connects with at least one sprocket to enable rotationand circulation of said vertical rotary conveyor system driven by thepower of said actuator to form an endless track; and

at least one alignment means to align said substrate with said movableplatform.

In another embodiment of the invention there is provided:

A method for automatically preparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slidesby means of filtration, comprising of the following steps:

(i) placing at least one substrate at a movable platform of a firststation wherein said substrate is a means for holding a vial containingspecimen, a filter and a slide;

(ii) conveying said substrate to a working platform of a workingstation;

(iii) picking said vial by a first pick and place module to a secondstation for untightening and removing a cap of said vial;

(iv) picking and immersing said filter by a second pick and place moduleinto said vial; and

(v) picking and adhering said slide by a third pick and place module tosaid filter and transferring said slide to a slide holder afterwards;

characterized in that

said first station includes a vertical rotary conveyor system whichperform step (ii) conveying said substrate to a working platform of aworking station.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspect of the present invention and their advantages will bediscerned after studying the Detailed Description in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 -A shows an exemplary diagram of the present invention with afirst station and a working station.

FIG. 1 -B shows an exemplary enlarged diagram of the working station.

FIG. 1 -C shows an exemplary side view of the first station.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary top view of the working station.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary side view of the working station.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary enlarged view of the substrate while holdingthe vials containing specimen, filter and slide on the working platform.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary method flow of the present invention whilepreparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides by means of filtration.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be understood by those with ordinary skill in the artthat the invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well known methods, procedures and/or components havenot been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdescription of the embodiments thereof, given by way of example onlywith reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not drawn toscale.

As used in this disclosure and the appended claims herein, the singularforms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contextclearly dictates or denotes otherwise.

Throughout the disclosure and claims of this specification, the word“comprise” and variations of the word, such as “comprising” and“comprises,” means “including but not limited to,” and is not intendedto exclude, for example, other components, integers or steps.“Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey anindication of a preferred or ideal embodiment, “such as” is not used ina restrictive sense, but for explanatory purposes.

Referring to FIG. 1 , present invention is claiming an apparatus (1) forautomatically preparing homogenous thin-layer liquid-based cytology(LBC) slides (107) by means of filtration whereby said apparatus (1)comprises of at least one substrate (101) for holding a vial (103)containing specimen at a first position, a filter (105) at a secondposition and a slide (107) at a third position wherein said substrate(101) is located at a first station (FS). By having said substrate(101), said vial (103), filter (105) and slide (107) are conveyed as asingle entity which aim to minimize the mismatch of said vial (103) andslide (107) throughout the process and also to eliminate the idle timeduring conveying process of said vial (103), filter (105) and slide(107), as make reference to FIG. 4 . In addition, said apparatus (1) ishaving at least one working station (WS) which comprises of a workingplatform (109) connected to said first station (FS).

As shown in the working station (WS) as illustrated in FIG. 1 -A andFIG. 1 -B, said apparatus (1) comprises of at least one first pick andplace module (111) to pick said vial (103) from said substrate (101) atsaid working station (WS), transfer said vial (103) to a second station(SS) for untightening and removing a cap (113) of said vial (103), andsubsequently transfer said vial (103) to a first disposable station(FDS); at least one second pick and place module (115) to pick saidfilter (105) from said substrate (101) at said working station (WS),immerse said filter (105) into said vial (103), transfer said filter(105) to adhere to said slide (107) and subsequently transfer saidfilter (105) to a second disposable station (SDS) wherein said filter(105) is designed to control cells distribution and to standardizethin-layer cytologic smear; at least one third pick and place module(117) to pick said slide (107) from said substrate (101) at said workingstation (WS), adhere said slide (107) to said filter (105), andsubsequently transfer said slide (107) to a slide holder (119). Saidfirst pick and place module (111), second pick and place module (115)and third pick and place module (117) operate automatically without thepresence of a user or an operator.

On top of that, said first station (FS) includes a vertical rotaryconveyor system (121) comprises of a body frame (123) for supporting andacts as a backbone of said vertical rotary conveyor system (121).Furthermore, at least one actuator (137) is fixed to said body frame(123) to actuate said vertical rotary conveyor system (121) wherein saidactuator (137) includes but not limited to a motor. At least one movableplatform (127) on which said substrate (101) is loaded, is affixed tosaid body frame (123) at a predetermined interval, said movable platform(127) is connected with said working platform (109) to enable continuousmovement of said substrate from the first station (FS) to workingstation (WS). Said substrate (101) is aligned by at least one alignmentmeans (135) to said movable platform (127) wherein said movable platform(127) and working platform (109) includes conveyor belt, pallets or thelike.

Said body frame (123) further works as a holder for at least one chainguide rail (129). Said chain guide rail supports and guide at least oneroller chain (131) wherein said roller chain (131) connects with atleast one sprocket (133) to enable rotation and circulation of saidvertical rotary conveyor system (121) driven by the power of saidactuator (137) to form an endless track. Additionally, said verticalrotary conveyor system (121) is an automated system which enablescontinuous movement of said substrates in a clockwise or anticlockwisedirection. It adopts rotating mechanism so as to minimize the vibrationand noise and essentially said vertical rotary conveyor system (121) ishaving a flexible operation whereby in the absence of one the substrate(101) in any movable platform (127) or there is a need to replace thesubstrate (101), the user can assuredly insert another set of substrate(101) without making any interference to said apparatus (1).Furthermore, said vertical rotary conveyor system (121) possess theability to efficiently and promptly added the substrate (101) into themovable platform (127), as make reference to FIG. 1 -A and FIG. 1 -C.

The existing devices or modules for preparing the LBC slides are notcapable of providing the significant effects as stated above, as thecurrent modules do not encompass the novel features of said verticalrotary conveyor system (121). Hence, the present invention is notablynew and do involve an inventive step as the existing devices or modulesdo not provide any teaching, suggestion, or motivation for a personskilled in the art to arrive at the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , there are shown an exemplary topview and side view of the working station (WS). The substrate (101) isconveyed from the movable platform (127) of said first station (FS) tosaid working platform (109) for preparation of the homogenous thin-layerLBC slides continuously. In term of the working mechanism, said workingstation (WS) is a stand-alone system wherein the inputs such as thesubstrate (101) can either be conveyed from the vertical rotary conveyorsystem (121) or manually inserted by the user or operator. The similarcondition applied to said vertical rotary conveyor system (121). Forinstance, in the absence of said working station (WS), said verticalrotary conveyor system (121) can operate with another working module aslong as the working module comprises of a platform to connect with saidmovable platform (127).

The enlarged view of substrate (101) while holding the vials (103)containing specimen, the filter (105) and the slide (107) on the workingplatform (109) is illustrated in FIG. 4 . Conventionally, said vials(103), filter (105), and slide (107) are carried by different holderswhich encountered some drawbacks such as mismatch of the samples duringslide collection. To overcome the aforesaid limitation, the presentinvention comprises of said substrate (1) which served as a singleentity or single unit for conveying the vials (103), the filter (105),and the slide (107) to avoid any mismatch of said samples due to thedisarranged of said vials (103), filter (105), and slide (107).

Referring now to FIG. 5 , there is shown an exemplary method (2) forautomatically preparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides (107) bymeans of filtration. First and foremost, (i) placing at least onesubstrate (101) at a movable platform (127) of a first station (FS)wherein said substrate (101) is a means for holding a vial (103)containing specimen at a first position, a filter (105) at a secondposition and a slide (107) at a third position (301), then (ii)conveying said substrate (101) to a working platform (109) of a workingstation (WS) (303), wherein said movable platform (127) and workingplatform (109) include but not limited to conveyor belt, pellets or thelike. Said first station (FS) includes a vertical rotary conveyor system(121) which will perform step (ii) conveying said substrate (101) to aworking platform (109) of a working station (WS) (303). Said verticalrotary conveyor system (121) is an automated system which enablescontinuous movement of said substrates in a clockwise or anticlockwisedirection.

Next, (iii) picking said vial (103) by a first pick and place module(111) to a second station (SS) for untightening and removing a cap (113)of said vial (103) (305); (iv) picking and immersing said filter (105)by a second pick and place module (115) into said vial (103)(307),wherein said filter (105) is rotated to homogenize the specimen and thespecimen cells are collected on the surface of said filter (105) whilevacuum is applied. Lastly (v) picking and adhering said slide (107) by athird pick and place module (117) to said filter (105) and transferringsaid slide (107) to a slide holder (119) afterwards (310).

Said method (2) further comprises of a step of transferring said vial(103) to a first disposable station (FDS) by said first pick and placemodule (111) (309) after step (iv) picking and immersing said filter(105) by a second pick and place module (115) to said vial (103) (307).

Furthermore, said method (2) also comprises of a step of transferringsaid filter (105) to a second disposable station (SDS) by said secondpick and place module (115) (311) after step (v) picking and adheringsaid slide (107) by a third pick and place module (117) to said filter(105) and transferring said slide (107) to a slide holder (119)afterwards (310).

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for automatically preparingliquid-based cytology (LBC) slides by means of filtration comprises of:at least one substrate for holding a vial containing specimen at a firstposition, a filter at a second position and a slide at a third positionwherein said substrate is located at a first station (FS); at least oneworking station (WS) comprises of a working platform connected to saidfirst station (FS), the working platform including a conveyor beltand/or pallets; at least one first pick and transfer, configured to picksaid vial from said substrate at said working station (WS), transfersaid vial to a second station (SS) for untightening and removing a capof said vial, and subsequently transfer said vial to a first disposablestation (FDS); at least one second pick and transfer, configured to picksaid filter from said substrate at said working station (WS), immersesaid filter into said vial, transfer said filter to adhere to said slideand subsequently transfer said filter to a second disposable station(SDS); at least one third pick and transfer, configured to pick saidslide from said substrate at said working station (WS), adhere saidslide to said filter, and subsequently transfer said slide to a slideholder; wherein said first station (FS) includes a vertical rotaryconveyor system comprises of: a body frame; at least one actuator whichis fixed to said body frame to actuate said vertical rotary conveyorsystem; at least one movable platform on which said substrate is loadedwherein said movable platform is affixed to said body frame at apredetermined interval; at least one chain guide rail supports by saidbody frame and guide at least one roller chain; said roller chainconnects with at least one sprocket to enable rotation and circulationof said vertical rotary conveyor system driven by the power of saidactuator to form an endless track; and at least one aligner to alignsaid substrate with said movable platform.
 2. The apparatus forautomatically preparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides by means offiltration as claimed in claim 1, wherein said movable platform includesconveyor belt, and/or pallets.
 3. The apparatus for automaticallypreparing liquid-based cytology (LBC) slides by means of filtration asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said vertical rotary conveyor system is anautomated system which enables continuous movement of said substrates ina clockwise or anticlockwise direction.